WASHINGTON -- A Senate debate over embedding copy protection controls in all consumer electronic devices took a sharply partisan turn on Thursday.
During a packed hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, Democrats appeared far more eager for the government to intervene in what has become a highly visible tussle between Silicon Valley, which advocates a laissez-faire approach, and the Hollywood firms lobbying Congress to step in to prevent piracy.
"When Congress sits idly by in the face of these activities, we essentially sanction the Internet as a haven for thievery," committee chairman Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) told a panel of witnesses that included Walt Disney chairman Michael Eisner, News Corp. President Peter Chernin and Intel Executive Vice President Leslie Vadasz.
Hollings has drafted, but has not introduced, legislation called the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA). A version of the SSSCA obtained by Wired News prohibits creating, selling or distributing "any interactive digital device that does not include and utilize certified security technologies."
Hollywood studios such as Disney and News Corp. have said the threat of rampant piracy online means an approach such as the SSSCA will likely be needed. SSSCA opponents say the government should not be involved in the business of setting technological standards.
"We might need to legislate," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts), though he emphasized that he would prefer the private sector reach an agreement on how to protect copyrighted electronic content.
"Unfortunately, one issue seems close to an impasse -- how do we keep files from being illegally shared and distributed over the Internet?" complained Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California).
Republicans appeared much more skeptical of the SSSCA -- which is, after all, championed by a Democratic committee chairman -- and argued legislation would be too interventionist.
In the 2000 election cycle, the entertainment industry gave Democrats a whopping $24.2 million in contributions compared to $13.3 million to Republicans, according to figures compiled by opensecrets.org.
"I believe the concerns of content providers are justified," said Arizona's John McCain, the panel's top Republican. "They invest creativity, effort, and capital into producing high quality films and programming and should be able, adequately, to protect their investments. I am apprehensive, however, of proposals that select technological winners and losers and mandate government intervention in the marketplace."
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) echoed McCain's misgivings. "While I do believe government has a role to play in the development of a converged digital environment, I would be extremely hesitant regarding any proposal for government to mandate copy-protection technology."
Brownback said he was "comfortable on relying on existing law to address copy protection issues raised by the onset of digital convergence and the use of content by law abiding consumers in their own homes."
Thursday's hearing comes in the wake of a 600-word letter that chief executives of IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Intel and five other corporations sent to movie studios on Wednesday afternoon. The letter said tech firms are eager to work with Hollywood to find "technically feasible, cost effective solutions" for protecting entertainment delivered in digital form.
During the hearing, Disney's Eisner signaled he'd be willing to give Silicon Valley some more time.
"The private sector should be given every reasonable opportunity to develop appropriate means of protection and to adopt common open standards for use in a wide variety of delivery devices," Eisner said. "Only in the event of private sector failure should government set the standards."
Chernin, his colleague at News Corp., seemed to take a more hard-nosed approach.
Chernin said: "What the general public has to realize is that many businesses that rely on the creation, distribution and sale of content will be put in jeopardy by massive copyright infringement. This, in turn, will impact the quality of content that makes the broadband Internet so exciting for so many people."
Intel's Vadasz was the least willing to applaud government intervention.
"Any attempt to inject a regulatory process into the design of our products will irreparably damage the high tech industry," Vadasz said. "It will substantially retard innovation, investment in new technologies, and will reduce the usefulness of our products to consumers."
During the question-and-answer session, Hollings let the witnesses briefly abandon the usual decorum of a hearing and go at each other.
At one point, Eisner badgered Vadasz, asking him, "Can you protect open content on the Internet that's been stolen and now (is) sitting on a file. Is there a technological way?" After several half-answers, Vadasz eventually replied: "No."
That exchange led to a letter that Intel sent to Hollings late Thursday. It accused Eisner and Chernin of injecting "a point of confusion" into the hearing.
Vadasz wrote in the letter: "It is important for the committee to understand that content, once captured in 'unprotected' form, can never be put back in the 'bottle' and protected against copying on the Internet. This is because this unprotected media looks no different to digital devices than a home movie that you would send to a relative or friend."
The SSSCA also creates new federal felonies, punishable by five years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. Anyone who distributes copyrighted material with "security measures" disabled or has a network-attached computer that disables copy protection is covered.
An interactive digital device is defined as any hardware or software capable of "storing, retrieving, processing, performing, transmitting, receiving or copying information in digital form."
